Starry Night
by IcySnowflakes
Summary: The story of a girl who befriends Kuchiki Rukia and discovers that she has the powers to wield an extrodinary Zanpakuto. Main character is an OC.
1. Chapter 1: Beginning

**Starry Night**

**Chapter 1: Beginning**

* * *

A cold wind ruffles my hair. I take another step, forward into this strange world. All I can see is mist… and mirrors…

There's a jumble of soft musical notes, resounding from the distance. Some are soft and sweet… Others are harsh, sharp, loud…

The music seems to whisper to me… But I can't hear it, it's too soft…

* * *

I jolt awake to find myself lying in a secluded dark alley, out of sight, clutching my stomach.

West Rukongai, District 40. I've been living here for the longest time. There are thefts happening all the time, and people are hardly ever honest.

I've never been truly happy, or truly satisfied with my life. All I'm doing is waiting until I pass on. Even if I stay in this world, it's no use, I can't help anyone.

But somehow, I seem to be living longer than others. I see people come to Soul Society, and die here, too. I had felt more and more useless with every passing day, so I'm just here, waiting... Waiting…

When I fall asleep, something which had always been my personal escape, I've been having weird dreams more often. The notes have been getting louder and louder. Sometimes, I feel like it's trying to tell me something, but I can't figure out what it's trying to say…

My stomach growls and I clutch it tightly. I thought that no one could ever get hungry in Soul Society, but I do, somehow.

I look up towards the sky. It's a dull grey, overcast by clouds, as usual. Grey's the only colour I see in this world. The walls and ground are grey with dirt, and the clouds haven't cleared for as long as I've been here.

I hear footsteps coming from the side of the alley. I try to get to my feet and start running, but they seem to move in slow motion. I'd gone too long without food and I have no energy left.

So I sit on the ground, leaning against the wall, and wait for whoever's coming.

In a place that was as isolated as this, the average person in the district would just kill me and steal whatever was on my stick-thin body before running away. They wouldn't gain anything. I had nothing to call my own.

Time seems to slow down as the person gets closer to me. I start to see the faint outline of a petite woman's body. She seems to be dressed in black.

As she gets closer, I recognise the clothes she is wearing. "Shinigami," I whisper, wondering what she was doing in such a district. Just then, my hunger gets even more intense and I double over in pain, wrapping myself with my arms as I try to endure the ache.

I hear the footsteps quickening, and the sound of someone kneeling.

I see a hand offering me some _onigiri_. As hungry as I am, I hesitate to take it. Seeing this, the shinigami says, "Here, eat this. You probably consumed all of your spiritual energy when I came near you. The food will help." Her voice is deep and slightly boyish, but it's soothing, somehow.

Upon hearing her consent to eat the rice cake, I quickly wolf it down, even if I don't completely understand what she had said about spiritual energy.

"Thank you, shinigami," I croak out. My voice is hoarse as I'm still weak.

"Come with me, I'll buy you some food in a better district." She says. After a short pause, she continues. "I think you should enrol in the Shino Academy. It's a school where we train future shinigami. You have a great deal of reiatsu – spiritual pressure – which is why I found you here. You could become a talented shinigami, having such reiatsu while you're still so young."

"Really?" I ask, still looking down at the ground, for I'm ashamed to let a shinigami see me in such a pathetic state. I heard that they were very talented people, and they help to protect Soul Society. I remember that a shinigami had sent me here through a Soul Burial.

"Yeah. Follow me," the shinigami says. "But before that, what's your name?"

"Seiki. Star." I reply.

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia." I feel her smile.

I look up to see her face for the first time. She's pretty, with pale skin, contrasting perfectly with her black hair. A single strand of hair hangs between her eyes.

Her eyes.

I stare into her eyes. They're filled with so much emotion and depth. They're the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Her eyes are violet.

Violet - the colour which broke through my grey world.

* * *

I'm wandering around the edges of Seireitei, waiting for news of Ichigo's arrival through the Senkai Gate when I feel a slight reiatsu.

It's very weak, and it feels as if it's coming from somewhere far away, perhaps even in the midst of Rukongai.

I decide to go in search of the person with that reiatsu. If I can feel reiatsu that I don't recognise coming from Rukongai, it probably means that there is someone who could become a shinigami out there.

The entrance exams to the Shino Academy are just around the corner. If the person letting out reiatsu like that is far away, it probably means that he or she isn't aware that they could become a shinigami.

Plus, far away means that the person is in a worse-off district of Rukongai. I know how that feels. I felt that it was my duty, somehow, to help that person.

I continue running towards the reiatsu, which seems to be getting weaker.

The scenery around me changes, from clean and orderly to dirty and chaotic.

I feel the reiatsu getting closer as I reach the fortieth district and I slow my run down to a walk as I turn into a dark, grey alley.

I hear her whisper "Shinigami," and know that she realises who I am.

Suddenly, she doubles over, clutching her stomach. She must be in pain. I realise what I've done – it's happened to me before. I went near her and she consumed all of her spiritual energy. If she was hungry before, the pain caused by hunger would be almost unbearable now.

I run towards her and offer her the _onigiri _I had with me, but she doesn't take it. She still had manners even when hunger was probably tearing her apart – she probably possessed an incredible amount of willpower.

"Here, eat this. You probably consumed all of your spiritual energy when I came near you. The food will help." I encourage her.

As soon as she heard that, she devours the rice cake, after which she thanks me in a hoarse voice.

I feel my heart melt with pity for the girl. She probably hadn't seen much outside of her pathetic world in this district.

Her reiatsu had gotten slightly stronger. I felt something different about it – it wasn't a typical shinigami's reiatsu. It was unique, somehow.

"Come with me, I'll buy you some food in a better district." I tell her, feeling slightly curious about her reiatsu. After hesitating for a while, I continue. "I think you should enrol in the Shino Academy. It's a school where we train future shinigami. You have a great deal of reiatsu – spiritual pressure – which is why I found you here. You could become a talented shinigami, having such reiatsu while you're still so young." I leave out the part about how her reiatsu is different from most shinigami's, or how it could reach me in Seireitei, even if it was weak. I didn't need to worry her.

"Really?" she asks. She refuses to look me in the eye. Perhaps she is ashamed for someone to see her in this state. The top of her head is covered by a think blanket of rich, curly, chocolate-brown hair.

"Yeah. Follow me," I say. "But before that, what's your name?" I want to see if she'll make it into the Shino Academy, but with a reiatsu that had the potential to be as immense as Ichigo's once she regains her strength, I have no doubt that she will.

"Seiki. Star." It's a nice name. It actually means star and the beginning. I bet that this girl isn't Japanese. She probably picked up Japanese from the streets, which is pretty impressive.

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia." I smile, satisfied that I've saved someone from the horrors of the lower districts of Rukongai.

At last, she starts to lift her head to look at me. She seems to be pretty, her skin as pale as mine, her features delicate.

She meets my gaze, and stares into my eyes.

I stare back into hers and hold back a gasp.

They're aqua green – the exact same shade as Kaien-dono's.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: Forward

**Starry Night**

**Chapter 2: Forward**

A/N: If you don't know about Shiba Kaien, I suggest that you do not read any further. There are minor spoilers about him.

* * *

Time's passed incredibly fast since then.

We looked into each other's eyes for a moment that seemed to last forever. I don't know what she saw in mine, but hers' were shining with an emotion I'd never seen before. All I'd ever seen before was jealousy, pain, cunning.

It felt like a fresh new start, gazing into her eyes. I completely forgot that I had been just waiting to die there in that desolate alley.

Suddenly, she snapped out of the gaze, looking away suddenly. I immediately felt ashamed – had I been staring too much? – and looked back down at the ground. I felt a blush blooming on my cheeks.

She got up and held out her hand. I took it and she pulled me up gently.

With an arm around my shoulder, we left District 40 of West Rukongai, heading forward towards the first district.

Rukia-san brought me to a restaurant of some kind in West Rukongai, District 1. The first district was the most beautiful place I had seen, the difference between this place and my previous 'home' was incredible.

We had the best food I'd ever tasted there. The fact that I didn't have to steal it made it all the sweeter. I regained the strength which I had lost for so long bit by bit, with every bite.

I thanked Rukia-san over and over for the meal. The watermelons, especially, were simply scrumptious.

She kept smiling and saying that it was no big deal, but she seemed distant, somehow. I wondered why.

After we finished eating, she asked me, "I want to go back to my home to pick up something. Do you mind following me?"

"Anything you want. Thank you so much for everything; I really don't deserve this…" I let my sentence trail off. She seemed to be here physically, but her thoughts were far away.

"Let's go," she said, and we set off for her home, in the very centre of Soul Society, the Court of Pure Souls – Seireitei. I wondered how what it looked like, how different it would be from Rukongai…

* * *

Everything about Seiki's and Kaien-dono's eyes were the same. They really were the exact same colour, it dug up so many memories…

So many memories… So happy, but so painful…

I would befriend Seiki and help her along, train her – it felt like some way I could repay Kaien-dono for training me.

I broke eye contact with her. I had to snap myself out of this. Kaien-dono was gone. His heart was with me, but his physical being would never, ever come back. I had to resign myself to that fact. Just because Seiki's eyes were the same didn't mean that she was like Kaien-dono, it could just be a coincidence, I didn't need to go out of my way to watch over her…

Right?

I thought of Ichigo. Sure, I had given him my shinigami powers because he wanted to save his family, but I was so close to him afterwards. I used the fact that I had lost my powers, so he had to take care of my duties as an excuse, but I wanted to know him better…

Was that because of his resemblance to Kaien-dono?

Was I really such a horrible, superficial person, only getting close to a person because of how they appeared on the surface?

Of course, once I got to know Ichigo, it was a different story, but…

I made up my mind. I'd help Seiki to the best of my ability, get to know her. Not because I wanted to help anyone who resembled any bit of Kaien-dono, but because I truly wanted to help a girl who had suffered in Rukongai and had the power to become a powerful shinigami.

The fact that her eyes were so much like Kaien-dono's would be just a coincidence, or so I thought.

It was only then that I realised that Seiki had looked down again and was blushing – I had made her feel awkward by looking away so abruptly.

I got up and held my hand out to her.

She took it and I slowly pulled her to her feet. Together, we set off for a better district where I would buy her some more food.

West Rukongai, District 1. The exact same district Hitsugaya-taicho and Hinamori had come from. I had heard from Hinamori that the watermelons here were delicious and smiled a little when I saw Seiki enjoying them.

My thoughts wandered back to Kaien-dono as she continued her meal.

Raven-black hair, aqua green eyes, he had a youthful appearance and a dynamic personality. He took Ukitake-taicho's duties upon himself because of the captain's illness. He trained me to become the shinigami I am today.

I killed him. It was my sword that passed through his body.

It was a fight of honour, and I had allowed him to die with pride after leaving his heart with me, but I still felt guilty - like I had to repay that debt of killing him somehow.

So far, it seems like I did that by helping people who resembled him.

First Ichigo… and now Seiki.

I felt horrible. Hadn't I been the one who told Ichigo, "_Even if you save that kid here, nothing will matter if you don't become a Shinigami! Saving him because he's right in front of you! Don't be naïve. A Shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You cannot just conveniently save those you can see, those you can reach. Don't save that kid with such half-heartedness. If you want to save him now... accept that you must save all spirits. To go anywhere for them... to even give your life to save them, make that kind of commitment!_"

All you had to do was tweak what I said a little. Helping only those who resembled Kaien-dono wasn't fair. Like a shinigami has to treat all spirits all equally, shouldn't I have to treat everyone equally too? If I helped one person, shouldn't I help all of them?

Then again, it was incredibly rare to stumble upon someone like Ichigo or Seiki. They were similar in so many ways, besides the fact that they both resembled Kaien-dono. I had been stunned by Ichigo's abilities as a human. Seiki's reiatsu, which was admittedly different, was steadily increasing as she regained her strength. For someone untrained to be so strong - I was surprised. Then again, it was her strange reiatsu which had led me to her.

She could turn out to be an incredibly powerful shinigami, just like Ichigo.

Noticing that Seiki was done with her meal, I told her that I wanted to pick something up from home.

A complete, total lie. I wanted to do something about her, but I wasn't sure what yet. I was still thinking of the plan. I knew that I had to enrol her in the Shino Academy, of course, but…

I continued berating myself for treating her specially.

I felt so guilty, but considering the circumstances…

Kaien-dono would have known what to do in this situation. He would have told me what I should do. Like a compass, he could have shown me right from wrong.

Ever since he'd left, a part of me was missing – I had no one to turn to for help.

Seiki and I started heading forward to Seireitei. I was going to bring her to the Kuchiki residence. What for, I would decide later.

Kaien-dono… I miss you.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated! This story will be updated once a week, unless I am incredibly busy.


	3. Chapter 3: Kuchiki Manor

**Starry Night**

**Chapter 3: Kuchiki Manor**

A/N: Minor spoilers about why Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki family and about her battle with the ninth Espada. If you don't know about these, I suggest you do not read any further, or you can do so at your own risk.

* * *

Rukia-san still seemed a bit distant. But I was extremely grateful to her so I didn't say anything about it. I felt guilty for not trying to help her, but it wasn't like I was extremely close to her or anything, although I felt really comfortable with her. I wondered why that was – I had never felt so comfortable with a person before.

We walked towards the West Gate.

Rukia introduced me to the Guardian of the gate – Jidanbo Ikkanzaka. He was extremely large and muscular, and he was at least nine and a half metres tall*, towering well above Rukia-san and I – I was a little shorter than Rukia-san.

Most of his hair was tied up into a long ponytail. The parts which weren't were tied up into small ponytail-like tufts, or were covered up by his red hat. He wore armour on part of his left arm, and a significant portion of his chest was left exposed by the shinigami uniform that all shinigami wore.

Rukia-san told him that she was going to bring me to enrol in the Shino Academy, and the giant nodded knowingly, though his eyes betrayed slight surprise. I assumed it was due to the fact that I was being personally escorted by a shinigami to sign up for a place in the Academy. I had heard that a lot of people who went to the Academy were looking for an escape from their lives in Rukongai, and that applying at the Academy was their own decision.

I gulped at his imitating appearance and introduced myself timidly, forcing a smile.

He chuckled at how scared I was as he lifted the gate. He seemed to be quite friendly, a stark contrast to his appearance.

We stepped inside Seireitei and thanked him as the gate closed.

Rukia-san brought me to her house pretty quickly.

To my surprise, the entrance to her house was heavily guarded. Rukia-san did a lot of explaining before the guards let up and let us both into the house.

It wasn't a house, not really. It was more like a huge manor. It was old, but very grand. Everything was orderly and peaceful. It was beautiful.

_This_ was Rukia-san's house? How could she have afforded something so huge, so wonderful?

My thoughts must have been visible in my eyes because Rukia-san gave a sort of wistful smile and told me, "There are four great noble houses in Seireitei. The Kuchiki house is one of them. I was originally from Rukongai, like you, but I was adopted into this house. It isn't very common for something like that to happen." She looked away for a while.

"Wow, you must be really talented, then," I told her, smiling.

"No, it's not like that, Nii-sama adopted me into the family because-" she stopped abruptly.

"Never mind. Seiki, could you wait here? I'll go and pick up my things, I'll be right back…"

"Sure." I seated myself on a bench beside what appeared to be the Kuchiki family's personal river and watched the gigantic koi fish swim in the waters, mesmerised by their brilliant colours.

Rukia-san disappeared into the huge manor.

* * *

I tried to shake the thoughts of Kaien-dono out of my head.

I was starting to realise that it was weird that I should be thinking this way – relying so much on my heart and not on my brain.

I looked at Seiki, wondering if she had some kind of talent to make people feel so close to her that they'd question her inner resolve…

It was probable… Right?

We'd reached the West Gate, and I saw Jidanbo, its guardian. I introduced him to Seiki, and told him how I was going to bring her to enrol in the Shino Academy. He looked slightly surprised. I assumed that Seiki thought it was because a shinigami was escorting her personally to apply for a place there, but it was most likely because he was really feeling her reiatsu for the first time – how different it was. His eyes widened, but returned to their original size too quickly for Seiki to notice.

Seiki introduced herself. She seemed intimidated by his appearance. I would have chuckled, but my thoughts were somewhere else.

_Kaien-dono_ had taught Jidanbo about Rukongai.

It was a fact that had suddenly jumped to the front of my mind. It was weird, because I'd never drawn that relationship before.

Then again, I'd seen Jidanbo pretty few times, too.

It was as if Seiki was bringing out all my innermost thoughts… It just so happened that the ones she was bringing out were about the people I really cared about and thought about the most…

I felt guilty over Kaien-dono's death every day, although it had gotten slightly better after I'd battled Aaroniero and realised that no matter where Kaien-dono's physical body might have been, his heart was with me, and all his friends, where it would remain and be remembered forever.

I was vaguely aware of Jidanbo lifting the gate and chuckling at Seiki.

We stepped inside Seireitei and thanked the huge shinigami as he let the gate fall.

We arrived at the Kuchiki manor sooner than I expected. I talked to the guards so that they would let Seiki in along with me, and after a lot of explaining, she was staring at the humongous interior of the manor.

I made eye contact with her. She looked shocked. I realised that the manor of one of the four great noble families would be incredible to anyone who was already living in Seireitei, but to someone from Rukongai…

I remembered how I felt when I first entered the manor. Confused, overwhelmed…

Kaien-dono had helped me find my place – he was the only one who would treat me normally, instead of someone special just because I was a Kuchiki.

There, my thoughts had gone back to Kaien-dono.

Seiki's eyes were filled with shock.

I gave her a wistful smile and told her the bare basics about the Kuchiki house and how I had gotten into it.

"There are four great noble houses in Seireitei. The Kuchiki house is one of them. I was originally from Rukongai, like you, but I was adopted into this house. It isn't very common for something like that to happen." I looked away for a while. Had I gotten her hopes that she might have found a family up? Because… No, Nii-sama would never allow it…

But I had already been thinking of it, in the back of my mind…

_To adopt her into the Kuchiki clan._

"Wow, you must be really talented, then," She told me, smiling.

Talented… To be frank, I was at the level of a seated officer, but I was not one, because Nii-sama pulled some strings and took me out of the candidates since he feared for my safety… Seiki, on the other hand… If my hunch was right, she was nothing like Seireitei had ever seen before.

"No, it's not like that, Nii-sama adopted me into the family because-" I stopped abruptly.

How had the conversation gotten so far? It was Nii-sama's personal matter. I had no right to tell anyone else. I felt so comfortable talking with Seiki, yet I felt uncomfortable around her because she reminded me of Kaien-dono.

"Never mind. Seiki, could you wait here? I'll go and pick up my things, I'll be right back…"

"Sure," she replied, watching the koi, as I walked away.

Seiki… She really was something to be able to make me feel so comfortable around her, to have such a strong, distinct reiatsu, to pull out my deepest recollections of Kaien-dono – it wasn't just the colour of her eyes which did that, it had to be something more… My thoughts didn't even flow coherently most of the time when I was around her.

She would find out in the Shino Academy. She would figure out what her powers were in time.

For now, I'd do my best to help her. I'd made up my mind. It was not solely because of Kaien-dono. It was because she needed the help. She needed to be able to control her reiatsu, if that's what was making this happen.

I walked towards Byakuya nii-sama's room, where he would be at this time of day, to talk to him about Seiki.

* * *

*9½ metres is approximately equal to 31 feet and 2 inches, for those of you who don't go by metric measurements.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4: Eyes

**Starry Night**

**Chapter 4: Eyes**

A/N: If you are unfamiliar with Kuchiki Hisana and/or the rescue of Rukia from her execution, I suggest that you do not read this chapter. Also, this chapter does not contain Seiki's point of view. The first part is in Rukia's point of view and the second is in Byakuya's , to get this clear. Happy reading!

* * *

I was going to talk to Byakuya Nii-sama about the chances of getting Seiki into the Kuchiki family.

She _was_ probably going to become a powerful shinigami one day, judging by her reiatsu, which was growing ever so quickly ever since I had found her in Rukongai…

That seemed liked ages ago now.

Seiki was someone different, like no other shinigami I had ever seen before. She had caused me to reminiscence so much about Kaien-dono, yet Ichigo hadn't caused me to think half as much about Kaien-dono and many people who had seen him while he was trying to save me from being executed said that his resemblance to Kaien-dono was outstanding…

Seiki had shaken me to the core. I mean, look at me now – I'm walking towards Nii-sama's office with the ultimate goal of getting Seiki into the Kuchiki family…

It was possible, right? Nii-sama cared, even if he didn't show it on the outside…

I knocked on the door and hoped that I wouldn't get into trouble.

"Rukia," he called out my name without turning around.

"Nii-sama," I bowed to him. "I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" He asked, still facing away from me.

"Nii-sama, what are the chances of there being another shinigami from Rukongai to be adopted into the Kuchiki family?"

"Zero," he replied in his cold, emotionless tone.

"I understand, Nii-sama. But what if there was an incredibly talented shinigami out there?"

Byakuya got up from his seat and walked – no, it was more like gliding, he was so graceful - over to his bookshelf and picked out a book.

After dusting it, he opened the book to a seemingly random page. His eyes scanned through it quickly.

"It has been extremely rare, but the rules have been bent before and there have been shinigami adopted into the Kuchiki family based on their talent. This was before the Shino Academy was formed, so we cannot compare their standards to those of prodigies such as the late Kaien Shiba," - there was his name again – "Ichimaru Gin, or Hitsugaya-taicho. However, all of them never achieved prominent positions. They then renounced their titles as a Kuchiki and brought shame to our noble house." He snapped the book shut.

"Whatever you may be thinking, Rukia, I will not risk the pride of this house to let another commoner from Rukongai into the Kuchiki clan." He returned the book to the shelf and returned to his seat.

"I understand, Nii-sama, I was just curious. Nii-sama, there is someone I want you to meet. Will you please follow me outside?" I hoped with all my heart that he would follow me. I needed him to see Seiki, to see how he reacted to her, even though he kept his emotions very well-hidden.

To my immense surprise, Nii-sama got up again. "Only for a while, Rukia, I have paperwork to complete." His tone was as calm and cool as usual.

"_H-hai_, Nii-sama," I hurriedly got up from my kneeling position and walked towards where Seiki was, praying that nothing would go wrong and ruin Nii-sama's impression of Seiki for a long time.

She was still watching the huge koi, her eyes glued to the specks of gold which were reflected off of their scales, making them look as if they were shimmering.

I walked towards her, but she didn't notice me until I tapped her on the shoulder.

"Seiki, this is Kuchiki Byakuya Nii-sama," I looked into her eyes – _her _eyes, not Kaien-dono's – meaningfully, trying to tell her that she shouldn't make a bad impression.

She got up from where she was sitting immediately and faced Nii-sama.

"It's an honour to meet you, Byakuya-sama." She bowed down towards him.

"Seiki," he acknowledged her.

Seiki straightened. "You have an amazing sister, Byakuya-sama," she told him, her eyes shining.

I could have sworn that I had seen it. The moment Seiki and Nii-sama made eye contact, I saw that ever-present calm in his eyes crack, for just a moment. But the crack came and gone so quickly that I couldn't be sure that it had even been there in the first place.

Seiki – she _shocked Nii-sama_?

I stared at her. She was looking at Nii-sama earnestly, wanting to convey her thanks to him. I would have blushed, but I was too confused.

Was it the exact replica of Kaien-dono's eyes that had shocked Nii-sama?

Or something else altogether…

* * *

I was in my office at the Kuchiki Manor when I sensed Rukia's reiatsu, along with someone else's. That reiatsu felt different, somehow. I assumed she had brought over one of Ichigo's friends from the real world – those who had special powers.

I had never felt this particular reiatsu before, but I didn't think much of it. With Ichigo's immense reiatsu, yet another human manifesting their own powers was quite a plausible situation.

I felt Rukia coming towards my room and silently wondered what she wanted – she very rarely talked to me.

There was a knock on my door, which was always left open, since there was hardly anyone in the Kuchiki Manor.

"Rukia," I called out to her, putting my paperwork down.

"Nii-sama," she knelt into a bowing position at the door as an act of respect. "I need to talk to you."

She had never said that to me before.

"What is it?" I asked her, not turning away from my work to look at her.

"Nii-sama, what are the chances of there being another shinigami from Rukongai to be adopted into the Kuchiki family?"

Why was she asking me this? It seemed completely random, and very unlike Rukia. Whatever it was, the chances of adopting another shinigami from Rukongai… I had only adopted Rukia in because of my promise to Hisana. I had sworn on my parents' graves never to break the rules again, but I had.

Either way, I was trying to not break the rules any more, I had done enough.

"Zero," I replied in my usual tone.

"I understand, Nii-sama. But what if there was an incredibly talented shinigami out there?" she asked me. She was trying to hide it, but her voice betrayed her thought that there was a shinigami worthy of being adopted into our house.

Then that shinigami would have to be amazingly talented, enough to shock the whole of Soul Society. Such shinigami were very rare, and were incredible prodigies.

I got up from my seat and went over to my bookshelf. I immediately picked out a book that I knew would contain the information I needed to confirm again.

I brushed away the layer of dust that had accumulated on the book after it not being in use for such a long time and flipped to a familiar page that I had looked at before, when others had questioned if it really was right for me to adopt Rukia into the family

"It has been extremely rare, but the rules have been bent before and there have been shinigami adopted into the Kuchiki family based on their talent. This was before the Shino Academy was formed, so we cannot compare their standards to those of prodigies such as the late Kaien Shiba, Ichimaru Gin, or Hitsugaya-taicho. However, all of them never achieved prominent positions. They then renounced their titles as a Kuchiki and brought shame to our noble house." He snapped the book shut.

That had not been exactly true. They were forced to renounce their titles as a Kuchiki because they abused the power that the name gave them. They never achieved prominent positions because they were shamed before they could reach any position above a third-seat. Commoners were not allowed into the Kuchiki house because their position made them giddy with unwanted ambition and they eventually soiled our reputation over and over, causing us to banish them and build up our reputation again.

"Whatever you may be thinking, Rukia, I will not risk the pride of this house to let another commoner from Rukongai into the Kuchiki clan." I returned the book to the bookshelf and returned to my seat.

"I understand, Nii-sama, I was just curious." I doubted that she was _just curious_. "Nii-sama, there is someone I want you to meet. Will you please follow me outside?" I sensed that Rukia wanted me to meet someone very much.

What harm could it do? And I was actually slightly curious. Rukia had not introduced me to any of her human friends. Of course, they probably thought that I had a bad impression of them because they had broken the rules to save Rukia from being executed, but still, that had been a long while ago and many things had happened since then. This strange reiatsu, combined with Rukia's wanting to show her to me, had made me want to know what was going on.

I got up, and sensed that Rukia was shocked that I had done so. "Only for a while, Rukia, I have paperwork to complete." I kept my tone the same as before.

"_H-hai_, Nii-sama," She hurriedly got herself together and led me to whoever she wanted me to meet.

The person of interest was staring at my recently-disappearing koi, facing away from us. She was not a shinigami, she did not wear the same clothes as us, but she did not seem to be from the human world, either. Her clothes had faded and were slightly dirty. Usually visitors from the real world were dressed pretty respectably.

Rukia walked towards her. She did not notice her approaching until she was tapped on the shoulder.

"Seiki, this is Kuchiki Byakuya Nii-sama," she said to her, introducing me.

She got up from her seat and faced me immediately.

"It's an honour to meet you, Byakuya-sama." Well, at least she was more polite than that Kurosaki Ichigo, who still refuses to address me with the proper honorifics.

"Seiki," I acknowledged her.

She stood straight again. "You have an amazing sister, Byakuya-sama," she told me, making eye contact.

Her eyes, they dug up so many memories, they were…

They were the same as Rukia's, but they reminded me more of someone else…

Seiki's eyes – they were _Hisana's_ eyes.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated! Also, Merry Christmas!


	5. HIATUS

I vastly underestimated the amount of work I would have during school, so sorry for abandoning this fanfiction! I'll continue it when I'm free...

...Unfortunately, that might not be for a while. School sucks.

Thanks for understanding.

Let's just assume that this fanfiction is on an indefinite hiatus, shall we?

[Edit]

Hey again! Thanks for the reviews, all of you. I have something to add.

I think this fanfiction is also a little too heavy-hearted for me to write now. I'm just not in the mood to write a fanfiction with absolutely nothing that makes me smile in it these days. Blame stress. And I am definitely not going to turn this into a humor fanfiction, it would be terrible if I did that. If I continued this now, I would be forcing myself to write it, and I would be displeased with the end result. So I'm putting this fanfiction on hold, but I might write something else. I actually have another chapter of this story written out already, but I'm not sure if I should upload it, especially since it raises more questions than answers.

Thanks for reading this - I really hope I can continue it one day! It's just that that day isn't today.

Meanwhile, I'm actually working on a Death Note fanfiction. It's more for my amusement than anything else, but I wouldn't mind if you took a look!

Thanks again.


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